v 
THE BLUES
If I'd waited any longer this would have been a report!
At last, Freedman has signed, but too late for the JPT match so I've got to go with both the Frenchman to take part in the action at some time in the JPT first round where we hope not to go the way of the Carling Cup and certainly not last season's competition where we lost 7-6 on penalties to Dagenham and Redbridge after drawing 2-2 after extra time had been played.
Joyce and Sankofa should also get a game, Sankofa for any one of three but not poor Harding, we cannot afford to give him a rest, just hope he dosen't get injured until, say, January 31 2009.
Tilly may well give the 39-year-old striker Paul Furlong another start as the well-travelled striker has been used sparingly so far this season. Damien Scannell and James Walker must also be in the running for a full 90 minutes.
On-loan Chelsea youngster Lee Sawyer deputised for the Moose against the Saddlers has picked up an injury and is doubtful so Grant will probably stay in the side, maybe a good move for him after his spectacular own goal.
This game though has become important for install some confidence in a Blues side that played some good stuff on Saturday but allowed Walsall to dominate in the second period after some simple errors.
I hope there's a decent crowd that takes advantage of the ten pound adult price and free for under 16's. The fact it's Borient should help, you could be part of history if we win!
THE OPPOSITION
It started well with a win at home to Hereford, then a miserable 3-0 defeat at Peterborough and a goaless home draw v Carlisle. They were also knocked out of the League Cup at the first hurdle after getting hammered 4-1 at Ipswich.
Orient boss and former Blue Martin Ling has revealed his sadness at the news that striker Wayne Gray, who scored 20 goals in 83 league appearances for Southend, has damaged his cruciate knee ligament. The former Wimbledon frontman faces around six-months on the sidelines following an awkward fall during the match with Carlisle last weekend.
But Ling was quick to dismiss any connection with the medial ligament injury Gray sustained in the same knee during the final game of last season.
He said: "This is devastating news because Wayne had worked so hard over the summer to get back to playing. Of course as there was nobody around him when he went over our first thought's was it related to his previous injury. As a manager you do question whether you have brought him back too soon, but according to the medical people the injuries aren't related. They have told us that we had done everything right with his rehabilitation, and because Wayne wasn't feeling any pain in his knee they said that we had not rushed him back too soon either. So it appears as if it is just one of those freak things, although I really do feel for the lad because he is likely to miss the majority of the season now.
Ling went on to discuss how he would approach the loss and the signing of another former Blue in ex-Luton loanee Dean Morgan: "For us that is a major blow because he is a big part of my plans, and while we brought in Dean Morgan the other week who can play up front as well as on either wing, I am now looking to fetch in one more striker. I have put in an offer in for one player, but that doesn't look like it will be accepted and it will be a case of looking at other targets before the window closes tonight. If that doesn't bear any fruition it will have to look at the loan market, which shuts next week. I'm not moving on that front just yet though, because it is best to let the dust settle first on the permanent market. That is because if a club brings in a striker, others will drop down the pecking order and there is a chance you can get one of these in."
However we will not see Deano, a foot injury means he is still not fit enough to make his debut. Orient are also without the services of Tamika Mkandawire and Danny Granville (both groin) and Solomon Shields (ankle) allowing defender Andrew Cave-Brown to come into contention. Maccas favourte player Sean Thornton has not been seen since the Posh game.
THE MATCHES
Much has quite rightly been made of our recent record against Borient, blimey we've even lost out last three cup competitions against them so rather than dig up all the old stuff, I'll save that for the league, here'a our whole record against them in all it's gory detail. Hey, we've still won more games at home, just! (It was March 22 2003 when we last saw victory at Roots Hall, Mark Salter grabbing the winner.)
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THE HISTORY
Leyton Orient was originally formed by members of the Glyn Cricket Club in 1881, many of whom were former students of Homerton College. The team has had several name changes since, first as Eagle Cricket Club in 1886 then as Orient Football Club in 1888. History books written on the Club by its Historian Neilson N Kaufman suggest that the choice of the name Orient came about at the behest of a player (Jack R Dearing) who was an employee of the Orient Shipping Company (later to be taken over by P&O). The club's name was changed again to Clapton Orient in 1898 to represent the area of London in which they played. However, some historians think the name Orient was simply chosen due to its oddity and has no connections to them being an East-End club.
The name Leyton Orient was adopted following the conclusion of the Second World War. The club had moved to Leyton in 1937. A further rename back to simply Orient took place in 1966 after the Borough of Leyton was absorbed into the London Borough of Waltham Forest. That renaming followed a financial crisis (one of several to hit the club, and by no means the first or last) and restructuring of the company behind the club; this is remembered for a "pass the bucket" collection that took place at a special meeting of supporters in the East Stand, when complete closure was claimed to be a definite possibility.
The club finally reverted back to Leyton Orient in 1987, shortly after Tony Wood took over as chairman and at a time when a supporters campaign was taking place in the Leyton Orientear fanzine to reinstate the Leyton part of the club's name.
The O's are the second oldest Football League club in London and the south-east of England behind Fulham. They played in the 2nd Division of the Southern League in 1904, joined the Football League in 1905 and are the 24th oldest club currently playing in the Football League.
The 1914-15 season was the last football season before the League was suspended due to the outbreak of the First World War. 41 members of the Clapton Orient team and staff joined up into the 17th Battalion Middlesex Regiment (the Footballers' Battalion) the highest of any football team in the country and the first to join up en masse. At the final game of the season - Clapton Orient vs Leicester Fosse, 20,000 people came out to support the team. A farewell parade was also hosted, but not before the O's had won 2-0. The British Film Institute hold a brief recording of this historic match and parade in their archives.
During the Battle of the Somme, three players gave their lives for King and Country: Richard McFadden, George Scott and William Jonas. Though they were the only Orient staff to have died during the First World War, many others sustained wounds, some more than once and were not able to resume their football careers after the war. Prior to the First World War, O's striker Richard McFadden had saved the life of a boy who was drowning in the River Lea as well as rescuing a man from a burning building. History was made on Saturday April 30 1921 when the Prince of Wales, later to become King Edward Vlll, visited Millfields Road to see the O's play Notts County. The Orient won 3 - 0 and this was the first time a member of royalty had attended a Football League match. The royal visit was to show gratitude for Clapton Orient's patriotic example during the Great War and there is now a plaque erected on the site of the Millfields Road Stadium to commemorate this historic event.
The story of the club's major involvement in the First World War has been told in a 2005 book entitled 'They Took The Lead', by Stephen Jenkins (the deputy chairman of Leyton Orient Supporters' Club). In July 2006 Steve Jenkins, assisted by Les Bailey took a party of one hundred and fifty Leyton Orient Supporters and members of the Leyton and Manor Park Royal British Legion over to the Somme region of northern France, to visit the WW1 war graves and in particular to pay their respects at the resting places of Richard McFadden, William Jonas and George Scott - this was the first official visit to the O's war graves for 90 years. The trip was so succesful that a second visit to the Somme took place the weekend of July 12/13 2008, this time one hundred and eighty three O's supporters and members of the RBL made the historic pilgrimage. Media interest is growing concerning this amazing and proud period of the Orient's history. Chris Slegg a BBC London reporter travelled with the party and footage of the Somme trip was shown on every local news bulletin throughout the day on the Monday following the trip. It is hoped that a documentary or film will one day be made on Clapton Orient's proud service during the Great War.
Orient's golden years were in the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1961/62 season Orient were promoted to the top tier of English football, the First Division (now the FA Premier League), for the only time in their history, after finishing second in Division Two under the management of Johnny Carey. The team struggled in the top flight and were relegated from the top division the following season. Nonetheless, they did defeat West Ham United in a famous 'double' victory (home and away wins). They spent the whole of the 1970s in Division Two. In 1978 Orient were defeated in the semi final of the FA Cup, the furthest they have progressed in that competition.
Leyton Orient were Division Three South champions in the 1955/56 season and Division Three champions in the 1969/70 season. They were also the Anglo-Scottish Cup Runners up 1976/77.
In 1978 the club was indirectly responsible for the album Variations composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber for his brother, the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber. This reached No.2 in the pop album charts. Variations came about as the result of a bet between the two brothers on the outcome of Orient's final game of the 1976/77 season against Hull City.
Leyton Orient were promoted in the 1988/89 season, when under manager Frank Clark they were promoted in the Division Four Play-Off Final after a 2-1 aggregate victory over Wrexham F.C. More recently, under manager Tommy Taylor, Orient were defeated in the 1999 and 2001 Third Division Play-Off Finals, played at Wembley Stadium and the Millennium Stadium respectively. The latter final saw the fastest ever club goal scored to date at the Millennium Stadium, as Orient's Chris Tate scored after just 27 seconds.
Leyton Orient's most recent promotion was in the 2005/06 season, finishing in 3rd place and gaining automatic promotion to the Football League One under the direction of manager Martin Ling. This was the club's first automatic promotion in 36 years, and ended a period of 11 years in the English league's bottom division. This promotion season also saw an excellent FA Cup run, with Leyton Orient progressing to the 4th round after beating Premiership side Fulham F.C. Promotion was only secured in the final minutes of the final game of the season, away at Oxford United; with the score tied at 2-2 and Orient seemingly destined to miss out yet again on promotion, news came through of a late goal scored against promotion rivals Grimsby Town F.C. that would potentially promote Orient, and the Orient fans were still celebrating this when - some 14 seconds later - Lee Steele scored to confirm Orient's promotion. The result also relegated Oxford to the Football Conference.
In 2006-07, Orient endured a difficult season in the third tier, having spent most of the season in or around the relegation zone, and were bottom of the table at times in the first half of the season. An improvement in fortunes after Christmas - including memorable wins against Millwall, Tranmere Rovers and a vital win at eventually-relegated Bradford City near the end of the season - helped them finish in 20th place, one spot above the relegation zone. Most of the promotion-winning side left at the end of the season, through a combination of players released and some rejecting new contracts, and while the club's longest-serving player Matthew Lockwood did sign a new contract, he moved to Nottingham Forest for an undisclosed sum later in pre-season and now plays with the Farmers.
2007-08 was better, as Orient finished 14th with 60 points. The O's began the season in fine form, not dropping out of the top 7 until after Christmas. But due to the size of the squad when injuries became apparent the team began to struggle because they had nothing in reserve so started to slowly fall down league and only recording 3 wins from the last 12 games ending the season in respective 14th place.
(Thanks to all the usual suspects for their help with this article.)